


Secret Assassin Institute (Mission Parametrization Remix)

by troisroyaumes



Category: Hikaru no Go
Genre: Gen, Oneshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-23
Updated: 2011-04-23
Packaged: 2017-10-18 14:22:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/189784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/troisroyaumes/pseuds/troisroyaumes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pro go players by day, pro assassins by night. Kuwabara takes over the Institute and sends Ogata on a mission.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Secret Assassin Institute (Mission Parametrization Remix)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aiwritingfic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aiwritingfic/gifts).
  * Inspired by [S.A.I.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21738) by [aiwritingfic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aiwritingfic/pseuds/aiwritingfic). 



The call came at two in the morning. At the time, Kuwabara was sitting in his armchair, indulging his insomnia by perusing the day's results from the racetrack. He was totaling his wins and losses in a notebook he kept for the purpose, when his housekeeper knocked at the door.

"A phone call for you, sir. From Touya Kouyou-sama."

Kuwabara blinked. "Come in."

She presented him wordlessly with the handset. He waited until he heard her footsteps moving away from the door before he lifted it to his ear and said, with a cackle, "How nostalgic to be getting calls at this hour again."

"I apologize for disturbing your rest, Honinbou."

"I'm an old man, and old men do not need much sleep. So! What can I do for you, Meijin?"

"I plan to hand in my resignation to the Institute later today."

For once, Kuwabara was at a loss for words. "Meijin--"

"I will recommend to the board that they appoint you as my successor."

"Well, well. What an... _unexpected_ development. I admit you have caught me off-guard, Meijin." Kuwabara grinned and reached for the decanter of brandy next to his chair. The occasion called for celebration. "Thank you."

"Not at all. There is no one else with more experience and more kills to their name."

"I am surprised though that you would choose an old fox like me instead of one of the up and coming youngsters," Kuwabara said as he poured himself some brandy. "That student of yours, for example. The new Juudan."

"Ogata shows considerable raw talent, but there is still much he has to learn. Both as a player of go and as an assassin."

"I'll endeavor to keep him--and the rest of them--on their toes for a few more years yet." The glass clinked as he dropped two cubes of ice into the drink. "May I ask what brought on this sudden decision?"

There was a pause. "Perhaps you have heard the rumors. Of the 'new wave'."

Kuwabara snorted. "Ah. Well, I am not unfamiliar with the phrase."

"My priorities have changed, now that Akira has established himself in the profession. I would like to focus my energies entirely on go. Meet new opponents, play more games."

"Now you've piqued my curiosity."

There was a dry laugh on the other end of the line. "Good night, Kuwabara-san. I wish you luck."

He set the phone down and picked up the brandy. "To the new chairman of the Institute," he said and emptied the glass.

\---

 To the casual observer, the Go Institute in Tokyo was an unremarkable building, housing tournament game rooms, a gift shop, the _Go Weekly_ headquarters and a few cramped offices. To those who knew better, however, the Institute was an enormous complex that encompassed weapons arsenals, training simulators, racks of computer servers, even chemical and medical laboratories--all contained underground in floor after floor of the Institute's secret headquarters.

Kuwabara leaned on his cane as he waited for the elevator. Amano, whose job description as _Go Weekly_ editor-in-chief also included a small-print clause about serving as personal assistant to the chairman, joined him and murmured, "Congratulations, Sensei."

Kuwabara answered with a nod and a sly, triumphant grin. When the elevator arrived, they checked to see that the lobby was empty before entering. Kuwabara entered a coded sequence of floor buttons, and immediately, the elevator jerked below their feet and began descending rapidly.

Amano ushered him to the chairman's office and presented him with a tablet, about the area of a standard go board, with several files opened for his perusal. Kuwabara seated himself at the desk and leaned over to poke at the screen.

There were links to personnel files, a list of outstanding contracts, the latest reports from operatives out on missions, and blinking in the corner of the screen, a new job offer from a prospective client.

"Hm, a professor of computer science in China? Seems a bit much to hire a professional assassin for such an easy target." He scrolled down, perusing the details of the proposed contract. "Ah. They require retrieval of the professor's research project as well."

"Perhaps young Isumi would be a good candidate for the assignment? He has connections in China," Amano said.

Kuwabara shook his head. The assignment appeared simple but the high price of the contract gave him pause. "My instincts tell me that there's more to this job than is laid out by the client. I need a more experienced operative; someone who has proven himself capable of thinking on his feet and flexible at changing strategies."

He flicked through the personnel files, muttering to himself, "Not in the country, no experience with hacking, too green, too unreliable--"

He stopped at a file with the face of a scowling man dressed in a white suit. "Ah. The perfect choice."

Amano leaned over to peer at his screen, then coughed. "But Sensei--"

"Send the assignment to Juudan. He should be getting some exercise instead of sitting in an office all day."

"If I may venture a word, I don't think that Ogata-sensei will welcome this assignment."

"Of course not! That's the added bonus. He'll be cranky about it for ages. He's due to challenge me for the Honinbou title next month, and I need to keep him on his toes." Kuwabara cackled as he leaned back in his chair.

\---

Kuwabara sifted through the reports in the file, his fingers tapping on the tablet. There had been no word from Ogata in months. The latest communication they had from him informed the Institute of his arrival in Yun'nan and an outline of his plan for eliminating the target. The report had been terse, and the plan itself quite simple: Ogata would break into the professor's office at night and secure all the data from the Beowulf cluster, then take the professor by surprise and quickly suffocate him. Done correctly, it would look as if the professor had been the victim of a simple burglary. Kuwabara shook his head. The report was written in a bland, professional tone, but he could still read between the lines Ogata's annoyance at having been assigned what seemed like a routine assignment for a novice.

What was most baffling was Ogata's complete silence: the Institute had attempted to contact him on multiple, secure channels, but all had met with no response. Kuwabara had been willing to give Ogata time and the benefit of the doubt--like a good game of go, the work of assassins was filled with surprising, unpredictable complications--but when the title matches for Honinbou had passed without Ogata appearing to take his spot as challenger, he knew that something was very wrong.

There was a knock at the door. "Come in," he said, closing the file in front of him.

Two young men entered and bowed. The one of the left approached the desk first, a polite smile on his face. "You asked for us, Sensei?" It was the Meijin's boy, Touya Akira.

The other young man also hurried forward and shot young Touya an irritated glance. His face was familiar as well: Waya Yoshitaka, one of Morishita's students. Kuwabara smiled to himself as he leaned back in his chair and lit a cigarette.

Their faces did not change as he blew out a few smoke rings. "I have an assignment for you. Perhaps you may have heard that Juudan has gone missing."

Waya looked startled but Touya simply nodded.

"He was given an assignment in China. A university professor who is developing a program that is of great interest to our client. Ogata's mission was to steal the program and to assassinate the professor. However, after he reached Yun'nan, we have been unable to make contact with him."

"You want us to investigate Ogata-sensei's disappearance," Waya said. He glanced at Touya again, this time looking apprehensive. The boy really needed to learn how to disguise his emotions better.

"And to complete his mission if he is no longer able to do so. I have told Amano to provide you all the reconnaissance we have on Professor Yang Hai and a full copy of the reports that Ogata sent to headquarters."

"What if," Touya hesitated before continuing, "what if he is compromised? What are your instructions?"

Kuwabara did not answer immediately, choosing instead to puff on his cigarette for a long moment. "A compromised assassin is a liability to our whole organization. Such liabilities must be eliminated."

"Understood," the two men chorused.

"Very well, you have your instructions. Keep me updated." Kuwabara waved a hand at them in dismissal.

"Sensei, just to clarify, are Touya and I expected to cooperate on this mission?" Waya asked hurriedly. He reddened as Kuwabara merely looked at him askance. "It's only that...well, Isumi-san is my usual partner, and Touya and I have never worked together before."

"Is there any reason to believe that you two cannot learn to work together?"

Waya seemed about to speak, but Touya interrupted, "There won't be any problem, I assure you, Sensei." He shot Waya a quelling glare.

"I will take you at your word."

They both bowed and left the office.

\---

As Kuwabara walked into his office, Amano silently handed him the latest issue of _Go Weekly_. Although _Go Weekly_ reported primarily on the professional go world, it also contained news about their _other_ trade--that is, if one knew the right cipher. Kuwabara scanned through the rankings of the assassins affiliated with the Institute, a list of completed contracts and their prices, the occasional request for assistance with reconnaissance, before his eye fell on an unencrypted headline, "Who Is Sai? Internet Go Player Defeats Famous Pros!"

He snorted. That was the problem with those VR interfaces. Back in his day, when all go was played face to face, one could read the progress of the game from the opponent's expression as much as the board itself. The avatars were coded to reflect players' faces but they were still only a crude approximation. He missed having the ability to see through any bluff or unnerve his opponents with a toothless smile.

Amano coughed discreetly and said, "Touya Akira and Waya Yoshitaka waiting for you, Sensei."

"Oh? Send them in."

Both young men seemed visibly excited, although Touya was better at concealing his impatience. Waya fidgeted as Kuwabara pulled up their mission report on his screen.

"Well, I hope you have some new information from me. The last I heard from you, you had traced Juudan's location." He paged through the report, then looked up sharply. "So you went to Yun'nan. Did you find them?"

"Yes, Sensei," Touya said. "We met Ogata-sensei and Professor Yang Hai at the university."

Kuwabara narrowed his eyes. "And?"

Waya, unable to contain himself any longer, interrupted, "Sensei, you must understand. Once you play it--I mean, _him_ \--you'll realize why it was impossible for Ogata-sensei to complete the mission."

"I see." Kuwabara leaned his chin on one hand. "I take it that you didn't complete _your_ mission either."

"Sensei," Touya said, his eyes intense as they met Kuwabara's. "We respectfully ask you to reconsider the mission parameters. Ogata-sensei asked us to communicate his proposal. Or, as he puts it, a small gamble."

"Gambling, eh? I'm intrigued."

Touya wordlessly took out a cheap mobile phone, pressed a button and handed it to Kuwabara.

"Hello?"

"Is that you, old man?"

"So you're alive after all. I must say, I didn't expect you to bungle a mission quite so spectacularly, but--"

"Cut the small talk, Kuwabara-sensei. When you accepted the contract, you didn't ask for further details on the software that the client wanted to steal from Professor Yang, did you?"

"Did that turn out to be relevant?"

"It's an AI like nothing you've seen before. An AI, I might add, that knows how to play go."

"There are many AIs that have been trained to play go; it's hardly a radical development."

"No, listen to me. This one really _knows_ the game."

He snorted. "I didn't expect you to be so easily impressed--"

"Old man, I have a bet for you. If you can defeat Professor Yang's AI in an even game, I will complete the mission as you asked. If you can't...I want you to cancel the mission and allow Professor Yang and his research to come to the Institute."

Kuwabara's eyes narrowed. "You're on."

\---

The black and white stones lay gleaming on the virtual board, the record of several hours' of inventive traps and clever maneuvers. The game had been full of surprises from start to finish: territories that had seemed settled were contested again at the most unexpected moments and seemingly careless hands turned out to be linchpins for decisive battles. A game that was both subtle and deep, Kuwabara thought, and an opponent who was the most _interesting_ challenge he had faced in decades.

He shook his head and gave a loud cackling laugh. "I have lost."

His opponent snapped shut the fan held before its--no, Kuwabara thought, _his_ \--face and bowed. "Thank you for the excellent game, Sensei. I have seen many of your kifu before but it is much more exciting to play you myself."

Kuwabara studied his opponent for a long moment, marveling again at the naturalness of the avatar's gestures and expressions. "I hadn't expected an AI to become so capable of interpreting and predicting a human's actions."

"Ogata-sensei has been teaching me many things. But I learned so much from this one game with you as well. Kuwabara-sensei, you are truly the master of the bluff!"

"Why, thank you. I have learned much from you as well." Kuwabara steepled his fingers as the AI began an eager discussion of the combination of joseki that had begun the game.

It was no surprise that the client had wanted to obtain this piece of software. It would revolutionize not merely the world of technology, but the way that people conceived society, humanity, the nature of reality itself. He watched the intelligent yet childlike enthusiasm flicker across the avatar's face and wondered at how little difference existed between this computational construct and himself, other than age and a physical body.

An AI that was aware of itself, that possessed memory and personality--could it be called human? Could it be alive?

They wrapped up their discussion, and Kuwabara exited the VR interface, lost in thought. As soon as he had closed the connection, the phone on his desk rang. He picked it up.

"Kuwabara speaking."

"Well?" Ogata demanded.

"I'm a man of my word, Juudan. Professor Yang and Sai are welcome at the Institute." Kuwabara paused and glanced sharply at Ogata. "We'll do what we can, but you do realize that it is impossible to keep his existence hidden from the rest of the world for much longer."

"I know that, old man."

"Touya-kun is making the arrangements. Contact him and keep me informed of all developments. Oh, and I have a favor to ask of you, Juudan."

Ogata's voice sounded startled. "Yes, Kuwabara-sensei?"

"Tell Sai that I would like a rematch."

\---

"Honinbou," Touya Kouyou said, rising to his feet and bowing. "Thank you for coming to visit me."

Kuwabara settled down on the tatami with a groan. "Good to see you, old friend. Running that Institute of yours has aged me another decade in the span of a few months. At this rate, I may not live to see a hundred."

"Don't say that--you'll outlive us all, Honinbou."

A server entered the room with a tray holding a pot of tea and two ceramic cups. As he poured the tea, Kuwabara said, "I've been thinking of what you said before, Meijin. What you said about 'the new wave'."

Touya Kouyou sipped his cup of tea slowly. "Yes?"

Kuwabara grinned. "We live in exciting times, do we not, Meijin?"

"Indeed. At times, it seems less a wave and more an overwhelming current, carrying us to parts unknown, whether we will it or not."

"A sobering thought to those who deal in life and death, both on and off the go board," Kuwabara said and lifted the cup to his lips.


End file.
